


Farewell, Raboot?

by VJuniorVasquez



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:15:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23686771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VJuniorVasquez/pseuds/VJuniorVasquez
Summary: During a trip to Hoenn, Gou and Raboot reach a breaking point, and the boy is afraid he might lose his Pokemon...Meanwhile, Ash is getting pretty tired of his friend's attitude.
Relationships: Gou/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 6
Kudos: 115





	Farewell, Raboot?

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a prediction for the next episode and turned into... Well, this!  
> Enjoy!

Ash and Gou were visiting the Hoenn Region once again, the latter of the boys excited by the prospect of finally catching a Silcoon to evolve into a Beautifly.

“Assuming we find one” Gou complained and Ash chuckled

“It’s their seasonal migration, Gou” Ash reminded him “We have to found at least a Silcoon”

After several minutes of checking between bushes and trees, Gou was getting exasperated of finding one Cascoon after the other, in that moment, the Pallet Town native suggested:

“You could always catch a Wurmple and expect it to evolve into a Silcoon”

Gou denied with his head

“And going back home with a Pokemon that’ll evolve into a Cascoon again? No way!”

His response was a bit harsher than Ash expected, so the trainer excused himself:

“It was just a joke!”

However, Gou didn’t listen to him; he was too busy trying to find a Silcoon… In the meantime, Ash did his best to help him, but with no luck either. Gou ordered Raboot to help him find one of the elusive bug-types, but the Rabbit Pokemon was more interested in relaxing against the trees that in obeying his trainer’s commands

They group spent at least two hours in that activity and Gou lost his composure in more than one occasion, especially when he kept finding Cascoon stuck in the trees. Finally, he sat on the grass, exhausted and flinched when he felt a pressure in his shoulder. He looked up, Ash was smiling at him.

“What do you say if we take a break? I think I saw a diner on our way here”

“I’m not tired” Gou replied bitterly

“Of course you are!” Ash commented, always smiling

Without expecting a response, Ash took the other boy’s hand and forced him to get up, dragging him outside the forest.

“Let me go!”

“Not until you rest for a little!” Ash countered, raising his voice

“I said I’m not tired!” Gou complained, letting go of Ash’s grasp and running back to the forest

The raven haired trainer huffed, but he was there to help his friend, so he followed him.

“Come on Raboot, help me out!” Gou pleaded, and his Pokemon huffed and kicked a pebble, pretending to care about finding a Silcoon. Gou noticed he wasn’t interested, but didn’t make a single comment.

Gou was getting really tired, so he decided to follow Ash’s original advice and pointed at a wild Wurmple. Raboot was standing right beside him, and the boy thought the firetype would like to fight for once, so he pointed at the Wurmple and shouted:

“Raboot, use Ember!”

His Pokemon looked at his foe and then at his trainer. His eyes were fixed on Gou for several seconds, and the boy noticed the wild Wurmple started to move

“He’s getting away Raboot! Use Ember, come on!”

Raboot simply put his paws inside his fur and started to walk away, Gou tried to throw a Pokeball at the Wurmple, but it was too late, the creature hide between some bushes and not he nor Ash saw it again.

Meanwhile, Raboot kept walking, Gou ran behind him and put a hand between his ears, Raboot turned around, immediately shooting him a mean look, Gou tried to put a straight face and commented:

“Raboot, what’s wrong?”

The Pokemon started to walk around without saying a word, Gou stood in front of him and kneeled, saying:

“You’ve been acting like this ever since you evolved, please, tell me what’s wrong”

No response

“I want to help you! To understand you! To know if there’s something I can do to make you feel better”

“Rab” the Pokemon said, denying with his head

Just when Gou was about to insist, a sound interrupted him. He turned around and stared at Ash

“Sorry” the trainer from Pallet Town said, grabbing his stomach “I guess I was hungrier than I thought”

“I should be the one saying sorry” Gou quickly replied “I’ve been too focused on the hunt for the Silcoon, let’s get something to eat, okay?”

Ash smiled, and Raboot nodded approvingly.

When they entered the diner Gou couldn’t help to notice the place was almost empty, which as a matter of fact worked in their favor: Their plates went out quickly and in a matter of minutes, Ash and Pikachu were devouring their food in their very fast and monstrous way.

Gou looked at his left. Raboot was seated alongside him, holding his food with his arms and eating slowly. The boy took an empty plate and offered to his Pokemon, commenting:

“You’ll be more comfortable using this, Raboot” plate and denied with his head

“Can I help you somehow?” Gou insisted

For all response, Raboot did something that surprised even Ash and Pikachu: He growled at his trainer and Gou froze in place, unable to utter a word.

Once he finished the meal, Raboot jumped from his seat and walked towards the door, exiting the diner and resting against the window of the place. Gou stared at him for a few seconds until he finally said:

“I can’t with him”

Ash shot him a questioning look, and Gou continued:

“I’m trying my best to understand him, but he’s paying me no attention at all!”

“I thought things between you two were getting back on track”

Gou chuckled a little and commented:

“What makes you say that?”

“Raboot started to sleep with you again” Ash replied, remembering he saw the two of them sharing a bed the night Riolu was born

“I tried to hug him and he slapped me with his ears” Gou responded, and Ash felt a needle piercing his heart as soon as he saw his friend’s sad face

“Maybe he’s just having a hard time”

“Or maybe he doesn’t need me at all” Gou commented, getting up and turning around, ready to leave the diner. Ash stood behind him and grabbed his hand, but Gou didn’t look at him.

“You can’t just say that” the trainer replied quickly “He’s your Pokemon, he cares about you!”

“He has a weird way of showing it” Gou insisted

“Maybe you should keep trying being kind to him”

“What makes you think that would make a difference?” Gou asked, now facing his crush

“It made a difference with you”

“What?”

“He’s acting like you when I met you. He’s being stubborn, and cold and maybe even distant!”

“I’ve never acted like that with you!” Gou argued, with a faint blush covering his cheeks

“Oh, you totally did, but you know what I did?”

Gou raised an eyebrow, waiting for Ash to continue:

“I’ve been kind to you from the moment I met you, and I think you changed a lot since then”

The way Ash smiled after saying that forced Gou to turn around again, hiding his blush

“It- m-may w-work” the boy stuttered

The boy from Vermillion City spent the next few minutes looking for something that Raboot would appreciate. He wasn’t sure of how he was going to convince his Pokemon that his intentions were kind, but he knew he had to try something.

Walking pass an apple stand, he remembered Gengar showering Ash with the fruit after his capture, and thought that maybe that’s exactly what the fire type needed. He ordered a dozen of apples and stood in front of a frowning Raboot. Gou kneeled down and gave him the bag.

The Rabbit Pokemon spent several seconds staring at the fruit, and then looked at his trainer, after a while, he nodded, and Gou took it as a sign that his gift had been accepted.

“Can I take one?” Gou asked, trying to grab an apple

Instead, Raboot turned around and started to walk away, just when Gou was about to complain, the Pokemon started to run away.

Gou stood there, unmoving. Ash shook him and the boy blinked twice, looking at him

“We have to go after him!” the trainer shouted, running in front of the other boy

Without saying a word, Gou followed him

Ash and Gou finally stopped as soon as they saw Raboot, standing in the middle of a clearing in the forest. The Pokemon was holding the bag with the apples tightly. He waited for a few seconds and his ears twitched, detecting the presence of the two humans around, he picked a few apples and hid them in his fur, then, he ripped the bag and started to kick the apples as high as he could.

Gou, sick of that behavior, approached his Pokemon and shouted

“Why do you waste the food like that?”

Raboot frowned

“Ra! Ra!” he explained, pointing around

“Gou…” Ash said, touching the boy’s shoulder, but his friend ignored him

“I know you don’t like me” Gou said, and Raboot frowned again “But that gives you no right to throw around food like its garbage”

“He’s not throwing it around” Ash interrupted and Gou finally looked at him

The Pallet Town trainer pointed at the places the apples had fallen, a few wild Pokemon had pick the fruit, carrying it with them

“He’s feeding the wild Pokemon” Ash commented, smiling at Raboot, the fire type nodded

“That’s pointless!” Gou replied, clearly not touched by the action “We’re in a forest, they can feed for themselves!”

“Some of them can’t” Ash argued “I don’t think what Raboot did was wrong”

Tired of seeing the two humans arguing, the Rabbit Pokemon turned and walked away

“Look at what you did” Gou complained

“What I did?” Ash replied bitterly “It’s not my fault you don’t understand what Raboot was doing”

“I told you, it’s pointless”

“What happened with being kind?”

“It doesn’t matter how kind I’m trying to be, Raboot is not paying me any attention either way, so let’s keep looking for that Silcoon”

Ash put his hands in his pockets and huffing, started to follow Gou

A few minutes later, the researchers got lucky: They found a grup of Silcoon stuck in the side of some threes, wanting to be sure, Gou pulled out his Rotomphone and the device announced:

Silcoon, the Cocoon Pokémon,and the evolved form of Wurmple. Using its thread to attach itself to a tree branch, it waits to evolve to its next stage. When it grows thirsty, it drinks the dew that collects on its string.

Gou took his chance and quickly throw a Pokeball to a Silcoon, the object shook three times and finally clicked

“Silcoon’s data will be added to the Pokedex” the Rotomphone said

“Now, let’s see if we can find a Beautifly!” Gou said turning around

Ash tugged his friend’s shirt and whispered

“I think you won’t have to wait too long”

In that moment, the Silcoon started to evolve one by one.

“Maybe yours was ready to evolve too”

Gou realized his friend could be right and let out Silcoon, the Pokemon jumped to his head and stayed there for a few seconds

“She’s not…”

Gou didn’t finish the sentence, he felt Silcoon moving around, but she didn’t evolve and just stayed there, sleeping. Practically all the Pokemon around them had evolved at this point and Gou said:

“Maybe I interrupted her evolution when I caught her”

Silcoon woke up and descended from Gou’s head, nuzzling his face

“Or maybe she’s too attached to you already” Ash suggested

“It shouldn’t be like that” Gou whispered

Picking up Silcoon, he looked at her and said

“I should’ve asked you if you wanted to come with me”

Silcoon stared at him, unmoving

“Maybe you’d prefer to be with your friends”

Silcoon stared at the bugs around her and nodded slightly

“It’s time to gain your wings then, so you can fly to your heart’s content”

In that moment, Silcoon’s body started to shine and after a few seconds, Beautifly was flying above Gou’s head

“Beautifly’s data will be added to the Pokedex” the Rotomphone announced

“Go on then, fly with them”

Beautifly flew to Gou’s head and stayed there

“I don’t think she wants to leave you” Ash suggested

Gou petted Beautifly and the bug stayed perched in his head, making the boy smile

For the next hour, the boys stood silent in that place, watching the Beautifly flying around, suddenly, Raboot appeared at Gou’s side. None of them say anything, but the boy noticed the way Raboot looked at the Pokemon flying away…

The migration lasted for a few hours and after taking lots of pictures and videos, Ash and Gou decided to spend the night in a Pokemon Center.

A sound in the middle of the night woke up Gou. The boy opened his eyes and saw Raboot opening the room’s door, and walking outside. Intrigued, he put on his sneakers and followed him

The Rabbit Pokemon exited the building, and Gou face the cold winds of midnight, he silently insulted himself for not being careful, but still decided to keep following Raboot.

The Pokemon finally stopped at an abandoned factory. Gou saw how he took out some apples out of his fur and handed them to a couple of Zigzagoon and a Lombre, and Gou remembered those three Pokemon had pick the apples Raboot kicked around earlier that day.

After eating, Raboot started to dance around the place along with Lombre, when Zigzagoon brought him a can; he picked it up and started to kick it around, dancing with the rhythm of Lombre’s clapping

Gou knew in that instant he had nothing to do there

He turned around and made his way to the Pokemon Center, looking down

A pair of arms suddenly hugged him and Gou froze in alert

“You can’t walk in the middle of the night with only your pajamas” Ash Ketchum chastised him “Look at how cold you are”

“It doesn’t matter” Gou replied

“Of course it does!” Ash argued, taking out his jacket and putting it over Gou’s arms “It’s freezing out here!”

Before Gou could say something else, Ash hugged him again, and Pikachu jumped to his shoulder, giving him some much needed body heat. Hiding his blush, the boy from Vermillion City asked

“What are you doing here?”

“Pikachu woke me up and I got worried when I didn’t see you”

“You were worried about me? Even after how I mistreated you?”

“It was just a little discussion Gou, don’t worry, I think Raboot didn’t like it tho, where is he, by the way?”

“I think he’ll have a happier life without me”

“What’s that suppose to mean?”

“I saw him dancing with other Pokemon, he looked happy and fine, just like when we met him. I think that’s his natural place”

“I don’t understand”

“The streets, Ash” Gou explained “We found him on the streets and I think he feels happier being a wild Pokemon, helping others, and not spending his time with a human who doesn’t even understand him”

Gou started to walk again, but Ash had something to reply:

“How can you say that?”

His outburst forced Gou to turn around and face him

“He’s your Pokemon, your partner, he loves you!”

Gou smiled sadly

“Not anymore”

“You have such a problem understanding emotions” Ash declared and Gou chuckled at the comment

“You too” the boy said, blushing

“We’ll talk about you and I some other time” Ash said and Gou gulped, did the boy knew something about his crush for him?

“Now let’s go find Raboot” Ash said, taking Gou’s hand and forcing him to walk back where he came from

When they got to the abandoned building, Gou’s heart fell to the ground. The place was completely empty, sitting on the floor; he looked at Ash and commented:

“He’s gone”

“He may be back at the Pokemon Center” Ash theorized

“He’s gone” Gou simply repeated “And it’s all because of me”

“You made a mistake” Ash said, squeezing his friend’s shoulder “At least you want to fix things…”

“But I can’t fix anything!” Gou snapped “I always do the same, I force people and Pokemon to think the way I do, and if they don’t I just leave them alone”

“You didn’t leave Raboot alone” Ash insisted “You haven’t given up on him”

“But he gave up on me” Gou replied “That’s the other thing that always happens”

“What do you mean?” Ash asked, kneeling in front of Gou

“People don’t like me, how stubborn and complicated I am, as soon as they discover that about me, they just leave my side, like Raboot did”

The boy from Vermillion City felt a soft pressure in his hand. He looked at it, Ash was holding it, looking at his crush, he discovered he was smiling.

“I’m pretty sure Raboot’s still around”

“What makes you say that?”

“Aura” Ash simply replied “I’ve been sensing some people and Pokemon more than others since I caught Riolu He hasn’t leave you, and neither will I Gou” the trainer said, and Gou immediately hugged him

Ash put a hand on his friend’s head and felt a knot in his throat when he heard Gou starting to cry

“After how I treated you… Why? Why are you still being kind?”

“I have my own way to deal with the things you’ve told me Gou”

“How?” the boy asked, but Ash didn’t reply

Outside, rain started to fall. Ash knew it would be impossible for them to return to the Pokemon Center in those conditions, so he wrapped his arms around Gou’s waist and forced him to lie down

“What are you doing?”

“Wait for me for a little bit please. Pikachu, stay with Gou”

“Pika!” the electric Pokemon shouted

“Where are you going under the rain?”

“Just wait for me” Ash repeated, running outside

A couple of minutes later, Gou heard an explosion, not too far from the place where he and Pikachu were. Without expecting the rain to stop, the boy and the electric creature ran outside, only to find a strange scene in front of them.

“Gengar, use shadow ball!”

The ghost type Pokemon nodded, and letting out a sinister laugh, obeyed the command and attacked the Pokemon in front of him, a direct hit made contact with his foe, and the Pokemon ended up falling a few meters away from Gou.

Without understanding what was happening, Gou ran to the Pokemon’s side, only to discover his identity

“Raboot?”

“Ra! Ra!” the Pokemon replied, looking at Gou and then pointing at Ash

“What the hell are you doing, Ash?” Gou shouted

“I’m giving you the chance to connect with your Pokemon!” the trainer replied, also screaming “Battle me!”

“What?”

“Battle me!” Ash repeated “Gengar, use Shadow Ball again”

“Dodge it, Raboot!” Gou commanded and to his surprise, the Pokemon obeyed, swiftly evading the shadow ball and landing safe at Gou’s side

“You want to fight Raboot?” Gou asked

Raboot nodded eagerly

“I thought you’ve wanted to stay with your new friends”

The Pokemon denied with his head, patting Gou’s knee

“You mean I’m your friend?”

Raboot nodded and Gou felt his tears of joy mixing up with the rain

“I told you!” Ash shouted, and without giving his friend a second to process what happened, he ordered “Gengar, use Psychic”

“Use your speed to hide in the forest!” Gou commanded and Raboot did exactly that, Gengar flew behind him and Ash and Gou followed him

“Why are you doing all of this?” Gou asked, as soon as Ash was right beside him

“Because this is the way I deal with the things you said to me, Gou. You are my friend, but if I have to defeat Raboot to teach you a lesson, then I’m gonna do it”

Gou was about to ask what lesson was that, when he understood.

Raboot was like Ash, he was kind with the strangers and ready to fight as soon as he wanted, the only reason Gou never understood him was because the boy never considered battling an important thing.

Raboot not only liked battling, but he wanted to do it with a worthy opponent, not with some random Wurmple.

The boy felt a presence behind him; he turned around and stared at Raboot

“I’m still trying to understand exactly what you want” the boy said “But you don’t want to leave me, don’t you?”

Raboot denied

“You want to battle, right?”

Raboot nodded eagerly

“And it also seems like you like to dance, right?”

Raboot looked away, and Gou swore he saw a blush of embarrassment for a moment

“Don’t worry, your secret it’s safe with me, you can focus on battle as much as you want”

“Ra! Ra!” the Pokemon said, tugging Gou’s shirt

“You want to battle… with me?”

The Pokemon nodded, looking in his fur, he took out one last apple and offered it to his human companion. Gou accepted it with a smile, but a known voice interrupted the moment

“Gengar, use Ice Punch!” Gou heard behind him

“Dodge it!” the boy quickly commanded and smiled as soon as he saw Raboot doing exactly that

Raboot jumped as high as he could, and Ash and Gengar saw the determination in his eyes when a lightning fell and illuminated the Pokemon’s face

“Use Ember!” Gou shouted

Raboot, still in the air, took a pebble out of his fur and kicked it directly at Gengar…

Gou and Raboot had a long way to go before they could fully understand each other, but that night, both of them took the first step…

**Author's Note:**

> Teresa, Clau, Haru-chan, thank you for your kind comments on Twitter!  
> Let's see if I can come up with an unexpected surprise for my 30th fic  
> In the meantime, comments, reviews and kudos are much appreciated!  
> See you around everyone!


End file.
